We saw a Tate Britain‘s exhibition, Migrations: Journeys into British Art (January 31 – August 12). Developments in transport, artistic institutions, politics and economics have attracted artists to come to Britain, and the exhibition exploring how British art has been shaped by migrant artists from abroad from 1500 to the present day.

In the 16th century, Flemish and Dutch landscape and still-life painters including Anthony van Dyck, came to Britain through moments of political and religious unrest and introduced a new style of portraiture. 17th century European migrants brought new genre, such as marine and landscape painting, to UK. During the 18th century, artists from different countries who studied in Italy and developed a neoclassical style, settled in London and contributed in founding of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768. Many 19th-century British and American artists, such as Whistler, studied in Paris and established themselves in London for patronage, as well as French artists who also escaped the Franco-Prussian war and its political aftermath. In the early 20th century, Jewish artists and Jewish art were explored in Britain. In the 1930-40s, European artists such asMondrian, Naum Gabo and Laszlo Maholy-Nagy, escaped from Nazi Germany and brought modernist principles. In the 50-60s, artists from the Commonwealth countries came to study and engaged with modernism. They took a conceptual approach and became a part of a counterculture. In the 80s, British artists of immigrant backgrounds, such as the Black Audio Film Collective, explored race and national identity. Present time contemporary artists, including Zineb Sedira and Steve McQueen, use moving image for both documenting and questioning reality,

Migrations is an interesting exhibition, showing us the development of British art over 500 years, interacting with people from different cultures from time to time, as well as a bit of British and world history. But it lacks of punch in some way, and didn’t give me something that remains in my heart.

Tate Modern‘s “Miró” exhibition, which is the first major retrospective of Spanish Surrealism artist Joan Miró in London in nearly 50 years since 1964 at Tate Britain, just started today (April 14 – September 11).

More than 150 paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints, created in Barcelona and Paris, across the six decades of his career are gathered under one roof; from early paintings of his native Catalonia, his experimental style inspired by Surrealism and a friendship with André Masson, anxiety, anger and despair-driven works during Spanish civil war, to a rich variety of mature and balanced works at the later period including triptychs with intense colors.

Miró’s exuberant, dynamic and quite ‘Latin’ works let our hair down and gives us energy – highly recommended for people who are tired and stressed out, or who lost hope in life. I guarantee that you’ll leave the museum, feeling a bit better :)

Range Rover has collaborated with four Parisian artists to celebrate the new compact city car, which debuted at Paris Motor Show 2010. Each artist was briefed to create art installations based on the wire frame of the Evoque, and these designs were created around the four key attributes of the car; sustainability, luxury, design and technology. One of the participated artists, fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac made an installation based on the theme “luxury” (here for photos).

Since its open over half a year ago, I’d been wanting to eat at Koya Japanese Sanuki Udon noodle restaurant in SOHO, and finally made it. The restaurant has been highly rated by many restaurant critiques and bloggers (→article 1/2/3), and people queue up when it is busy. The owner and a former chef of Zafferano, Mr. John Devitt invited two Japanese chefs who had experience at Kunitoraya Udon restaurant in Paris. They make fresh Udon everyday in the traditional way, using flour imported from Japan and authentic dashi stock made from scratch with katsuo-arabushi and souda-bushi (smoked and dried fish, variations on katsuobushi) and iriko (roasted and dried anchovy). The only setback for me is that the use of softened water from the river Thames – think about the color of the water and all the water traffics on the top of it!

The menu consists of three kinds of Udon – “Atsu-Atsu (hot udon in hot broth)”, “Hiya-Atsu (cold udon in hot broth)” and “Hiya-Hiya (Zaru Udon: cold udon with cold sauce to dip / Hiyashi Udon: cold sauce to pour). Koya also offers some Donburi rice bowl dishes and small plates as well. I ordered curry udon (Japanese curry, not Indian), and its noodle was exactly I expected – smooth and shiny with good koshi (elasticity; not mushy like al dente pasta. Curry stock was great, except its ingredients of eggplant/aubergine and tomatoes – in my mind, curry udon has to have sliced thin beef and cooked onions, like in M’s niku (beef) udon, which is delicious and almost perfect. If you are looking for a good bowl of Udon noodle in London, I definitely recommend Koya, as well as its cute and cozy interior (there are a lot of Japanese restaurants in London with terrible interior design, with no offence!).

There were two good Soba noodle restaurants when I lived in New York; Honmura-an in Soho and Sobaya in East village. I went to Sobaya many times as my school was nearby, looking at a Mexican chef making fresh soba noodle through a glass wall while waiting for my order. Unfortunately, more upscale Honmura-an where I saw a musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, closed in February 2007. I also liked Sakagura (means Sake storage) with a variety of Japanese Sake, and Omen restaurant from Kyoto. Though there are around 100,000 Japanese living in New York, which is nearly double of London, I have to say that in general Japanese restaurants are better in New York, both its food and its atmosphere. Now I am hoping a good Soba noodle restaurant would open in London!

Mr & Mrs Smith‘s “2 for 1 nights” campaign that we used for last year’s Cotswolds trip comes back this year (see related post), teamed up with the Times this time as “Times 2 for 1“. With this great two-for-one offer, you can stay at one of the 70 stylish hotels listed, mainly in the UK and Europe, for two nights with the price of one night. The rule is to collect three of six passwords printed in the Times from the last Saturday till today, except Sunday. But here, with a permission, I can tell you the passwords – hurray! Go to Mr & Mrs Smith’s web page and type boutique/luxury/seduction in the password sections, and click “submit code” – and you are able to book a hotel of your choice online. Alternatively you can book online if you prefer. Just don’t forget that bookings must be made by 30 November 3o, 2010 for stays up to January 9, 2010.

Mr & Mrs Smith also publishes hotel guides, as well as hotel reservation service. This is Mr & Mrs Smith Hotel Collection: France, published in July this year. You can find 32 fabulous accommodations carefully selected in 12 destinations, from Paris’ contemporary hotels to gorgeous châteaux and cosy country side villas, together with beautiful photos and useful local information. The layout of the book is quite sophisticated, and I love the touch and smell of its uncoated papers. When I look at those pretty hotels, I feel an urge to pack my suitcase right now and go on vacation tomorrow!

A new public bicycle sharing scheme Barclays Cycle Hire (aka “Boris Bikes”), propelled by Mayor Boris Johnson (who is a cyclist himself), launches today in London. At 6am, 4,700 bikes were in place in 315 docking stations across central London, while the total fell short of a promised 6,000 bikes at 400 docking stations.

Currently only registered users who have signed up on TfL’s website and received an electronic key (£3) in the post can use “Boris Bikes”, but unregistered users will be able to use it from the end of next month. I just registered last night and am waiting for the key to arrive. Once it arrives, you have to activate it online by logging in your account. In order to use the bikes, you have to pay “access fee” for £1@day / £5@week / £45@year, plus “usage charge” after first free 30 minutes for £1@hour, £4@90 mins, and £6@2 hours and so on (see details), which will be charged to your credit card. But you can use the bike for free for as much as you want, if you return it every 30 minutes and hire a new bike or the same one again after you re-dock for 5 minutes. If all the docking points are taken, you can get an extra free 15 minutes by using the touchscreen display on their nearest terminal, before you find another station. Be careful, you will be charged £150 for not returning a bike for 24 hours or £300 for not returning it at all. If the bike is broken, press the button with the spanner symbol when you return it – a mechanic will come to repair it.

The bicycles and the docking stations are built in Canada and are based on Montreal’s bicycle rental system Bixi. On the body of the bikes, you can see the blue logo of sponsor Barclays which donated £25 million to the scheme. The comfort-oriented and vandal resistant body equipped with computer system is quite heavy, and some cyclists claim that they can’t go fast. But it is totally fine for me, or I don’t want those selfish irritated ‘fanatics’ to use these beautiful bikes. These obnoxious cyclists pedal like crazy, passing a red-light, ringing the bell and kicking out pedestrians on their way, going around in between the cars, and jumping in front of the traffics like buzzing flies around a face, causing a slow traffics – the only thing they care is to get their destination as soon as possible. Very annoying!

As I wrote in the past entry, the London’s cycle lanes are still not good and safe, and doesn’t connect throughout central London. Also UK uses left-hand traffic which is a minor system in the world, and most of the tourists including Europeans and Americans who are not used to the traffic system may put themselves in danger. Also similar Paris’s Vélib’ has suffered vandalism and theft, and many people are anxious that the same things happen to Barclays Cycle Hire as well and cost taxpayers a fortune.

The scheme has just started, and let’ see how it goes.

家からすぐの所に出来た駐輪場。少し寂れた短い通りなのに、2つも大きな駐輪場がある。まあ、私にとっては便利だけれどね。

The docking station just few minutes from our flat. The street is rather deserted, but there are 2 docking stations on this short street. It is convenient for me and I don’t mind it, though.